One Village, One Dam and development politics in northern Ghana

To increase water access in Ghana's arid, northern agricultural communities, the Ghanaian government initiated the One Village, One Dam (1V1D) project in 2017. Under 1V1D, the government planned to construct or repair over 570 small-scale dams across northern regions, where water scarcity and social-ecological vulnerabilities are particularly high. This research examines implications of 1V1D in one rural agricultural community. We interviewed 29 community members and state officials in the Upper East Region to understand how 1V1D was rolled out, and implications for farmers. Our findings reveal that while state officials asked for community input and participation, community knowledge was ultimately sidelined for outside 'experts.' Furthermore, the dam has not met community members' expectations and is not used for dry season farming. We situate these findings in a long history of water and development in northern Ghana and argue that development projects must move beyond recent party politics to truly incorporate local people's insights and experiences in participatory development projects.